A lightly modernised exploration of Hermetic alchemy, the Prima Materia and the Philosopher’s Stone.
Of Alchemy, Its Divine Origin, the Difficulty of Attaining Perfection in the Art, and the Nature of the Adept.
Francis Barrett’s The Magus, or Celestial Intelligencer is an influential nineteenth-century work exploring Hermetic philosophy, alchemy, the Philosopher’s Stone, spiritual purification and hidden knowledge. This lightly modernised version makes Barrett’s language easier for the modern reader while preserving the original concepts and terminology.
But now we will turn to the preparation necessary to qualify the seeker for the attainment of these sublime gifts. Of the Preparation Necessary for the Search for This Treasure, and of the First Matter (Prima Materia) of the Stone.
LESSON 1
The preparation for this work is simply this: learn to cast away all harmful or base desires, along with light-mindedness and inconstancy of mind. Let all your dealings be free from deceit and hypocrisy. Avoid the company of those who are vain and reckless. Reject excessive indulgence and profane speech.
LESSON 2
Keep your own secrets, as well as those entrusted to you by others. Do not seek the favour of the rich, and do not despise the poor, for whoever does so may become poorer than the poorest.
LESSON 3
Give to those who are needy and unfortunate whatever little you are able to spare. For whoever has little, yet gives something to those who are suffering, shall be richly rewarded by God.
LESSON 4
Be merciful to those who offend or injure you. For what must be the state of a person’s heart if they seek heavy vengeance for a slight offence? You should forgive your brother or sister seventy times seven.
LESSON 5
Do not be hasty in condemning the actions of others, lest you should, in the next hour, fall into the very same error. Despise scandal and gossip, and let your words be few.
LESSON 6
Study diligently, day and night, and ask your Creator to grant you knowledge and understanding, and that pure spirits may communicate with and influence you.
LESSON 7
Do not allow yourself to be overcome by drunkenness. Be assured that many of the evils that befall humanity originate in intoxication. Too great a quantity of strong liquor deprives people of their reason. When the faculty of judgement is lost, a person becomes vulnerable to harmful influences and can easily be driven from one pursuit to another, like a leaf blown about by every passing wind.
Those who drown their rational faculties are easily persuaded towards vice and destructive behaviour. The forces of darkness, as Barrett describes them, have no more favourable opportunity to enter the mind and heart than when a person is lost in intoxication. I pray you to avoid this destructive habit.
LESSON 8
Avoid gluttony and every form of excess, for these are deeply harmful. These are among the things that constantly tempt humanity and through which a person may become prey to their spiritual adversary, becoming unable to receive what is good or divine.
Also, the divine and angelic powers or essences, according to this teaching, do not delight in remaining close to someone who has become polluted by debauchery and excess.
LESSON 9
Do not excessively desire gold or material wealth. Learn to be satisfied with what is enough, for to desire more than you truly need is, according to this teaching, to offend the Divine.
LESSON 10
Read these lessons often, then you may become fit for the Great Work and prepared to receive higher things.
The purer you become in heart and mind, the more quickly you will perceive the higher secrets described here; secrets that remain hidden from those who are vicious or morally corrupt.
Such a source of treasure cannot truly be attained merely to satisfy gross, earthly or vain desires. Nothing should be taken from this book simply for selfish gain, but rather for the fulfilment of a good and worthy purpose.
When you have purified your heart to the extent that we have described, which is necessary for receiving every good thing, you will begin to see with different eyes than you do now. Your spiritual eye will be opened, and you will begin to understand humanity as clearly as you can understand the words written in magical books.
But do not depend entirely upon the strength of your own wisdom. Even when we believe our hearts to be secure, if we cease to watch over them, we may become vulnerable. The Devil, or his ministers, as Barrett describes them, can take advantage of such an unguarded moment and tempt us towards some form of wrongdoing. They may excite our appetite for lust and excessive desire, or towards any other destructive tendency.
LESSON 11
Take the foregoing instructions as your principal preparation, and understand that the soul has power, when the body is free from pollution, and the heart is free from malice and wrongdoing.
The soul is then a free agent and, according to this philosophy, possesses the power spiritually and magically to act upon matter.
This is why I have said that the First Matter is in the soul.
To extract it is to bring the dormant power; the pure, living, breathing spirit and eternal soul – into action.
Take careful note that every agent possesses the power to act upon its recipient. Every essence that is distilled is received into a vessel, but that vessel must first be made clean.
So too must the soul and heart of the human being be purified.
Cast away harmful desires and destructive tendencies and trample them beneath your feet. Then you will be able to proceed with the Work.
LESSON 14
When your spiritual eye is opened and you begin to understand the purpose for which you were created, you will no longer feel that you lack what is necessary for your comfort or support.
Only continue to follow the rules prescribed at the beginning of this little treatise:
Fear God, and love your neighbour as yourself.
Do not be hasty in revealing any secrets you may learn, for the good spirits, both day and night, will be your instructors and will continually reveal many secrets to you.
Do not imagine that you can gain more spiritual knowledge simply through the instruction of those who possess great classical education or formal schooling.
Barrett maintains that such people may nevertheless remain in darkness when it comes to spiritual knowledge.
For whoever desires spiritual knowledge cannot attain it merely through intellectual learning. Rather:
First, come to God.
Second, purify your own heart.
Third, submit yourself to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, allowing it to lead and direct you towards truth and towards the attainment of knowledge, both human and divine.
Do not attribute everything to your own power or strength. Instead, refer all things to the mercy and goodness of God.
Amen.
Book Source: The Magus, or Celestial Intelligencer, Francis Barrett.
This is a lightly modernised adaptation of selected passages from Francis Barrett’s work. I updated the wording for clarity and accessibility while retaining the original structure, concepts and Hermetic/alchemical terminology.
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